


My mother's best friend's daughter

by daniebanaanie



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Romance, a little angsty, hit the stage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-02 05:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daniebanaanie/pseuds/daniebanaanie
Summary: Ballet is everything to Mina. She dedicated her whole life to become the best dancer in her dancing school, JYP Nation. And she would have been long ago, if only one person didn't prevent that. Hirai Momo was a stuck-up, smug looking girl who impressed everyone with her dancing skills. And it wouldn't have bearable, if only Momo's mother wasn't the best friend of Mina's mother. That meant their families were always somehow connected, which led to Mina spending a lot more time with the blonde than she wanted to.On top of that, they were forced to spend time together when Momo was recruited for Hit the Stage, a killer dancing show that only let the best dancers participate. The more they practice together, the more Mina notices the change in her heart for the daughter of her mother's best friend.





	1. STAGE 1 – Devil

Ballet was everything to Mina. It was her life; her past, her present and her future. She had started when she was only eight years old and has been doing ballet for eleven years now. Mina was expected to be a professional ballerina when she would finish her schooling. From all sides, she was pressured in doing ballet more, doing it better, getting more professional and whilst that might be tiring to others, it energized Myoui Mina. To become the best dancer had always been a dream of hers and she wouldn’t stop until she achieved that. 

And she would have become the best dancer in her dance school a long time ago, if only there wasn’t a minor convenience… a minor convenience who happened to be the daughter of her mother’s best friend. 

The Hirai family came over once every month and Mina hated the moment the loud family entered the Myoui house. The parents weren’t even that bad. Her mother was best friends with Mrs. Hirai and her father and Mr. Hirai got along as well. The only problem was that Mina was expected to get along with the youngest child – Momo, who was about her age – too, only that she couldn’t. Because Hirai Momo was the only thing that kept her from becoming the best dancer in their dance school.  
Mina didn’t only dislike Momo because she was a better dancer – Mina questioned that, by the way – but also because her personality was just a pain in the ass. Whenever the Hirai family came to have dinner at their house, the only thing she did was [i]eat[/i]. She didn’t talk, she just ate. And honestly, Mina had no idea why she didn’t become incredibly fat, because she probably ate more than a grown man.  
On top of that, she was sloppy; she had literally no manners. Especially if they were eating meat in some sort of sauce – don’t get me started about spareribs – then it was just horrible and disgusting to watch her.  
The worst thing was that Momo didn’t even seem to care and that after she wiped her mouth, she just grinned at them all, as if she was [i]proud[/i]. She didn’t say much, but that simply annoyed her more, because it always seemed like she was secretly peeking at her from the corner of her eyes.  
At the dance school, she seemed like a whole other person. Hirai Momo was confident there, with a straight back and a smug smile on her pretty face. She wore clothing that the other girls could only dream of and always danced in the center, at the front.  
Momo’s class was before hers, so they usually met when Momo was coming out of the practice room – no drip of sweat on her perfect body, despite the fact that she was panting and probably worked her ass off – and they crossed each other on their way to the dressing room to the practice room, or the other way around. Whenever they happened to meet each other’s gaze, Momo would wink at her, causing Mina to grit her teeth in annoyance. It felt like Momo knew that she was better and more loved than she was and that she just wanted to show it all off.  
No wonder her nickname was JYP Nation’s Dancing Machine.

Therefore, she didn’t understand why Momo was so loved by all the other girls in her dance class. Whenever she entered the dressing rooms, all they talked about was Hirai Momo, almost as if she was a celebrity or something. It annoyed Mina endlessly.  
The fact that it did annoy her, irritated her even more. It wasn’t like they were competitors or anything; Momo excelled in hip hop, pop and locking and a little bit in breakdance whilst Mina liked to stay classy. She performed ballet flawlessly and even her dancing teacher looked at her in awe.  
Mina had won so many prices that she had had to buy multiple shelves to display them all. Since the age of eight she had competed in competitions, dancing better than everyone. She wasn’t egocentric at all, but she knew she was a good dancer.  
That’s why it pissed her off that she was jealous at Hirai Momo. She knew she could never be better than Momo at dancing because they didn’t dance the same kind of style, but it sure as hell pissed her off. Mina might not be an egoist, but she sure was competitive and the fact that she would never be able to beat Momo and wipe that smile off of her face caused her to grit her teeth. 

Mina hadn’t been able to hide her annoyance when their dancing school had been selected to participate in an upcoming dancing program, called Hit the Stage. The winner would either be rewarded with a scholarship or a reserved spot at one of the big labels for upcoming idols. Each dancing school had to choose their best dancer and send them off to the show as a representative, hoping to win first place. It would not only benefit the dancer, it would also bring a huge sum of money back to the dancing school.  
Momo had been selected to represent their dancing school, called JYP Nation. Her dancing instructor told her they went by that choice because Momo’s dancing style would provide a bigger chance for them to win; they would not be able to win Hit the Stage with a ballerina. Mina had sourly nodded and not paid attention to it anymore.  
At least, that’s what she tried to do. Every other girl had been gossiping about how Myoui Mina – the school’s most experienced dancer – had been turned down for Hit the Stage and they had gone with Hirai Momo instead, the rookie who had joined them one year ago. Mina had still been able to get over the fact that she had been rejected, after all there was a certain truth in the fact that a ballerina wouldn’t be able to win Hit the Stage, but when everyone started talking and spreading rumors, Mina got more annoyed by the day.  
Momo seemed to love the attention she was getting, which caused Mina to direct her hate to the blonde instead of the girls who were keeping the gossip alive. It was easier to. 

And did you know the worst thing about Hirai Momo? The fact that her mother was best friends with Mina's mother. That was probably the worst.  
Not only did that mean that Momo’s mother was over at the Myoui household more times a week than Mina could count, but that also meant that she saw Momo way more often than she wanted to.  
Their mothers had gotten this crazy idea, a year or two ago, that not only they should strengthen their friendship, but that their husbands and daughters should do as well, which resulted in a monthly dinner with both families.  
Mina was forced to sit and have dinner with the Hirai family the whole evening and it was easy to say that she was not happy about that. 

Mina liked Mr and Mrs. Hirai – they were kind – but to sit through an entire dinner with the Hirai sisters was agony to Mina, being an only child. Mina liked to stay as quiet as possible and nod along to the conversation the adults were having, which resulted into the sisters starting their own conversation most of the time. They barely paid attention to her and she liked it that way.  
That didn’t mean they left her completely alone. Especially Momo liked to pull her into their conversation a few times per dinner. Unlike Momo’s older sister, who had stopped trying after a few times, she kept trying to make her join the conversation. Mina often cautiously answered the questions they asked her if they weren’t too bold and tried to block them out as soon as possible, only to be pulled back in after another quarter. 

The dinners were exhausting, especially because ‘the kids’ were directed upstairs to Mina’s room as soon as the dinner was over. The adults wanted to talk and they didn’t want their kids to be there when they did. It was Mina’s job to take the other two girls upstairs and somehow entertain them whilst her parents chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Hirai.  
Mina had made clear that they weren’t allowed to touch anything in her room, but that had resulted in Momo picking up everything she could find. She held up her cute plushies – to take a better look, she had apologizingly said when Mina had shot her a look – and grabbed her trophies like they were nothing.  
Mina couldn’t stand the boldness of the Hirai sisters – Momo’s a little less than her sister’s. She hated the days the get-togethers happened and she had even begged her mother to let her stay at a friend’s place when the Hirai family was coming. Her mother hadn’t budged and just told her to get over her own feelings and act professional.  
“If you don’t like Momo, that’s all fine, but you’re going to attend the dinners and be polite and kind,” she had told her. Mina had not been happy. Not at all. 

The real challenge had come when Momo’s sister had fallen ill. After the dinner – which had been awkwardly silent, since neither Momo or Mina had initiated a conversation – the two girls had been forced to go upstairs to Mina’s room. Without her sister, Momo wasn’t as daring as usual, nor as loud. Mina hoped she could just relax on her bed and play games on her phone to pass the time until it was time for Momo to leave. Hopefully Momo would do the same; hopefully she’d get the hint.  
Though, as soon as Mina shut the door of her room, the blonde turned around to her, her arms crossed in front of her chest and a stubborn look in her onyx eyes.  
“Mina, why do you hate me so much?” she blurted out immediately, causing the brunette to look up surprised. She blinked a couple of times, completely taken aback, trying to form an answer that wouldn’t hurt her too much.  
But when you had to explain to someone that you didn’t like them simply because everyone else did, it was hard to find good wording. She wouldn’t come off as a good person if she just told her that she was jealous her and had been jealous at her from the moment she had set foot in their dancing school. Momo’s whole appearance just bugged her and it was not something Momo could help.  
“I do not hate you,” she eventually muttered, as she lowered her gaze and walked around the girl to sit down on her bed. She tried to take her phone out of her pocket and open her social media, but Momo wasn’t done with her yet.  
“Obviously you do. I’m not stupid, you know. I see the way you look at me, like I murdered your grand-mother or something,” she said, rolling her eyes. Mina looked up from her phone and pursed her lips for a moment.  
“I do not hate you,” Mina repeated. “I merely… we don’t fit together well, that’s all.”  
“Then that feeling is one-sided,” Momo said. “-because I don’t think I dislike you. But if I ever did anything to hurt or annoy you, you should tell me because then I can stop.”  
Mina sighed and shook her head. The fact that Momo was asking her what she did wrong so that she could improve herself set her even off more. Momo was nice enough to be willing to change herself so she could appeal to Mina more and that was simply annoying.  
Why couldn’t Hirai Momo just be egocentric? Or rude? Why did she had to be this perfect human being who immediately blamed herself even though she knew she was not at fault here? The girl immediately wanted to change when Mina had expressed her discomfort, even though there was nothing she did wrong. It was such a pure gesture that it just pissed her off.  
“You’re doing nothing wrong,” Mina was forced to say. “We just don’t click, that’s all.”  
Momo rose one of her blonde eyebrows and scoffed.  
“Well, then I want us to get along better. If our mothers are going to stay friends ‘till the end of time, like they claim, then we should be able to get along better too.”  
Mina skeptically squinted her eyes.  
“No,” she immediately said. “I’m fine this way.”  
“But I am not,” Momo insisted. “Let me try, one time. I can get you tickets to Hit the Stage, if you want. Special V.I.P places. I was allowed to give out five and I still have one left. Take it and come and see me.”  
Mina rose her eyebrows skeptically, wanting to tell her no immediately. She felt nothing for going to Hit the Stage, the show she had not been good enough to participate in, and watch Momo stand there whilst it should have been her who should have shone on that stage. On top of that, she didn’t even want a good relationship with Hirai Momo. It was easier to dislike her and pretend Momo was the reason of everything that went bad in her life.  
But Momo looked at her almost pleadingly. Her eyes resembled a puppy’s… and Mina had always been a sucker for big, dark eyes.  
“Please?” the blonde asked her. “It won’t disappoint, I promise.”  
Mina sighed. She closed her eyes for a second and ran with her hand through her hair.  
“… Fine,” she answered eventually sourly. When she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by Momo’s huge grin. Mina immediately regretted her decision.  
“Amazing!” the other girl chimed. “You won’t regret it, I promise! I’ll get you your ticket as soon as possible, okay?”  
Mina nodded quietly. “Sure,” she muttered. 

The next day in the dressing room, Momo approached her as she was changing.  
“Here you go,” the blonde said. The same smile covered her face as she handed Mina the special ticket. The other girls eyed the two suspiciously. It was generally known that Mina and Momo did not get along and this new development was closely observed by a dozen pair of eyes.  
“Thank you,” she said flatly. “Is there anything I need to bring?”  
Momo thought for a moment, then smiled cheekily.  
“A banner with ‘Momo fighting’ perhaps?” she suggested, as she winked. Momo started to laugh when she saw Mina’s unamused, neutral face.  
“Just be there, okay? Promised?”  
Mina rolled her eyes. “Yeah, promised,” she said. It wasn’t like she could say no anymore, especially not now that she had received the ticket. On top of that, she guessed that it would be fun to go no matter what and see Hit the Stage live, even if it wasn’t for Momo. There’d be a lot of amazing dancers and if there was one thing Mina liked, then it was to watch others dance.  
Momo smiled widely another time, nodded, and ran off, back towards the dance studio. As soon as she had left the dressing room, Mina was surrounded by her fellow ballerina’s.  
“I thought you hated her?” the dark-haired beauty, called Sana, asked her. She was one of Mina’s best friends but she was by far the clumsiest ballerina there was. Her posture wasn’t that good and she kept falling over her own feet when she tried to make more than one pirouette, but the girl had a heart of gold and had this special attraction that was hard to ignore. Whenever her face lighted up and her laughter was heard across the dancing studio, Mina couldn’t help to smile too.  
“I do,” Mina said.  
“Then why did you accept this?” Sana asked, nodding towards the ticket Mina was still clutching in her hands. The brunette shrugged.  
“Would you reject it? A free V.I.P place at Hit the Stage?” she asked, smiling weakly. “I get to see all these amazing artists.”  
Sana slapped her shoulder in shock.  
“Oh, Myoui Mina, you’re so cunning,” she chuckled. “I never expected you to be like this. Tzuyu definitely, Nayeon perhaps, but you? You surprise me.”  
With a chuckle, Sana walked off again. Mina watched her go. Her smile slowly faded off her face as she looked back to the ticket. With a sigh, she shook her head and stowed away the ticket in her bag. She flung it over her shoulder and left the dressing room. 

A week passed and the day that Mina had to attend Hit the Stage came nearer an nearer.  
The building was surprisingly small for a show that had been promoted so well. Mina waited in a line with the rest of the audience, clutching the ticket Momo gave her in her fist.  
Mina had dressed up unintentionally, meaning that she basically had traded her the old T-shirt she normally wore for a white blouse, which she had tucked into a dark blue pair of jeans. With her beige coat over her arm, her mother had commented that she looked beautiful for the camera’s. Mina had gladly copied her mother’s reason to look pretty.  
In fact, Momo had been on her mind when she had opened her drawer that morning and picked out her outfit. Momo had only seen her in her ballet outfit, or in a shirt with leggings. Now that she would see her in better clothes, she wanted to make sure she looked her best to show off. 

The queue slowly moved and Mina eventually got into the building. She moved along with the crowd towards the performance hall. Mina found her seat – it was one of the reserved ones in the front, right behind the judges – and sat down.  
It took half an hour before everyone had found their seats and gotten their drinks and snacks for during the show. The stage had already lighted up red, yet the seats of the participants on stage were still empty. Mina waited patiently, playing on her phone to pass the time.  
The seats next to hers stayed empty, although they were reserved to Momo’s name as well. Mina couldn’t help to wonder if no one else was going to come and cheer her on. Hirai Momo, the girl with a huge number of fangirls and fanboys… It would be weird if no one would be there but her. Sure, there were other people willing to cheer her on, wouldn’t there?  
She knew Momo’s parents were busy people so it wouldn’t surprise her if they couldn’t be here to support their daughter but Mina started to feel more awkward with every minute that passed without anyone else being there. She fidgeted uncomfortably with the zipper of her handbag, watching the crowd fill the enormous hall.  
As soon as everyone sat down, the lights dimmed, causing only the red lights from the stage to lighten the hall. A murmur went through the crowd. People nervously bumped against each other with their arms, trying to feel if the person next to them was still there, nervous about the sudden change of situation. Mina sat silently in her chair, watching the stage whilst clenching her jaws.  
The room went completely dark. The crowd started to cheer and clap as soon as the teaser trailer of the show appeared on the big screens. Mina watched it like she hadn’t watched it a thousand times before.  
When the lights went on again, the seats of the participants were filled; eight in total, five boys and three girls. The cheering grew louder, especially when the hosts appeared on stage. They introduced each other quickly. Mina watched with focus, trying not to let her gaze slide over to the participants.  
As the hosts were talking and introducing the first episode of Hit the Stage, Mina couldn’t help but to be drawn to the artists, curious who the other dancing schools had chosen. SM Town had sent in three participants this round; a blonde woman who looked like she was late in her twenties, a younger man and a teenager. Starship Entertainment had a woman and a broad looking man. Woollim had sent in a muscled male and Stardom one as well. JYP Nation’s only representative was Momo who, despite the fierce-looking competition, looked very relaxed. Her eyes were fixed on the hosts, but she almost seemed to sense that Mina was looking at her because she turned away, searching in the crowd. Eventually her gaze landed on the brunette and she smiled smugly for a split second. Mina immediately looked down, pretending not to have seen her.  
When she looked up again, Momo was whispering with the teenager from SM Town next to her. They laughed. Mina pressed her lips upon each other and watched bitterly. 

The hosts didn’t take long to open the episode, since everyone in the room knew what it was about anyway. They went on with introducing the participants instead, calling them out one by one. SM Town’s representatives were called Hyoyeon, Taemin and Ten. There was a boy named U-Kwon – although Mina guessed that this was his stage name – and one named Hoya. The ones from Starship were called Bora and Shownu. As their names were called, they all stood up and bowed towards the audience, each with their own characteristic smile. Finally, Momo was mentioned. She bowed as well, grinning widely. 

The hosts announced the jury. Each of them was a first-generation dancer who knew they were talking about. Therefor it was even more surprising that when one of them was asked who they expected the most from, they turned to Momo. The blonde’s cheeks had colored and she had muttered a thank-you into her mic. Mina had smiled softly at the sight of that. It didn’t happen often that Momo got flustered. 

Afterwards, the theme was announced; the first being called ‘Devil’. Mina couldn’t help to raise her eyebrows in surprise. It sounded like a very dangerous, dark kind of concept and she didn’t know whether Momo would be able to handle that well. She was a good dancer and her facial expressions were often good enough but she wondered if Momo could be sensual enough for a Devil concept. It would have something dark and mysterious about it, right?  
But then again, she wouldn’t have been chosen to represent JYP Nation at Hit the Stage if she wasn’t professional enough. Even Mina had to admit that. 

The directors had decided the order of contestants by showing them all a video containing a jump scare; whoever screamed the loudest had to go first. Mina couldn’t help to chuckle when they showed Momo’s video and that she was ranked pretty high as well.  
And after a few more formalities, the performances started. The participants left the stage to prepare themselves for their own act. SM Town’s Ten was first, followed up by Starship’s Bora.  
Ten, despite being the youngest participant, was incredibly impressive. His performace was named ‘Becoming the devil’ and it told the story of a boy being consumed by evil. His facial expressions and the team work with his background dancers was terrific and Mina’s mouth had dropped already a few seconds into the performance.  
Bora performed ‘Seducing witch’ and it was about as impressive as Ten’s. Her score was a little lower than his, causing him to still be in lead when Momo was about to perform.  
Mina was curious about what the blonde was going to do. The curtains on stage slid together until they were almost closed. Momo took in her position in the opening.  
The girl had pushed her hair back and with the dark lightning her cheekbones and jawline suddenly turned very sharp. The heavy eye make-up gave her something dark and accentuated her cheekbones even more.  
She wore a bright red blouse, tugged into black shorts. There was a band strapped around her upper thigh and the heels she wore looked as much impressive as painful. Her nails were painted in the same bright red color as her shirt and there were golden rings shimmering around her long fingers. Smoke appeared on the stage and the screens behind Momo showed a churchyard.  
Momo closed her eyes and placed her hands on her chest. Mina suddenly understood why the curtains around her were almost closed: it mimicked a coffin. She immediately sat a little straighter in her chair. The music started; a church bell echoed through the hall and caused a shiver to run through the bodies of the public. Goosebumps appeared all over Mina’s body.  
Suddenly dozens of hands were appearing from behind the curtains along to the sound of a horror movie, running over Momo’s body whilst she kept herself still and silent. They disappeared at the beat of the music and Momo came to live.  
Her eyes shot open and she curled her hands like claws and brought them up to her throat, almost burying her own nails deep into the delicate skin. A dangerous, almost crazy kind of grin appeared on her face as her eyes settled on the public. For a moment, she thought that Momo looked directly at her, pinning her down in her chair. Mina’s breath got caught in her throat as she watched.  
The hands returned and Momo’s head snapped backwards and to the side as the church bells rang again. Right before the blonde stepped out of her coffin, a bloody hand appeared and Momo’s gaze turned nearly hungry at the sight.  
Under the sounds of screaming people and heavenly singing, Momo emerged from her coffin. At first there were no other back up dancers except one man, whom she worked to the ground and bit in his neck as if it was nothing. When she looked up, her gaze settled upon Mina again. The blonde grinned widely and sensually wiped her lips.  
As the man crawled away, other female dancers appeared on stage. They made a group around her and accentuated Momo’s dancing, causing her to look like a queen with her servants. She danced together with the man again until the group of women closed in upon her and dragged her body backwards by her legs under loud screaming coming from the speakers. Her nails ran over the ground as in a thriller. One of the girls brought her up again and Momo seemed to rise from the earth like an undead goddess. The girl ran her hands over Momo’s body and she whacked them off but her neck was whipped to the side and the girl nipped at it before letting her go.  
Momo was back being the vampire queen and she finished the performance with an amazing ending. As she took her ending post, the church bell rang one last time. As soon as the public started to clap, she broke character by letting a shy smile appear on her face. Momo changed back to the sensitive girl she actually was. Mina let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. 

Momo disappeared from the stage again after her score turned out lower than Ten’s and the other performances were played out. Mina especially liked Hyoyeon’s Femme Fatale, because the theme fit surprisingly well with the tango, and Taemin’s Waking the inner Demons. His style of dancing was incredible and it didn’t surprise her that he won the contest.  
Momo, weirdly enough, ended pretty low. In fact, she her score was the _lowest_ of them all. Mina agreed that some participants had out-performed her, but Momo had definitely been better than the two fake Jokers. Their performances had more been about acting than it had been about dancing and Momo had had some pretty impressive moves. 

The show came to an end faster than she had thought it would. The hosts ended the episode and disappeared, as well as the other participants, off the stage. The lights dimmed and the public was requested to get up and make it to the exit.  
Mina was about to get up as well, until her phone buzzed. Curiously she opened the message from the unknown number. It were only a three words: ‘Wait for me.’. Mina sighed and pressed her lips stiffly upon each other until they formed a thin line on her face. She put her phone away and sat back down on her chair. 

Momo appeared out of nowhere. Her cold hand tapped Mina’s shoulder and a shiver ran through her spine as she looked up. Momo smiled widely at her, still wearing her performance clothes. Her hair had fallen in front of her face by now, but it didn’t make her look less fierce. A little smugger, perhaps, but she still looked like she could rise out of her coffin at any time and dig her fangs into the soft skin of Mina’s neck. The thought alone made Mina shiver.  
“You came.”  
It was more a statement than a question, although Mina still nodded to confirm it.  
“Did no one else?” she asked, glancing around the dancer to the still empty seats. They had stayed empty throughout the whole show and even though Mina didn’t like it to sit next to someone whom she didn’t know, it had been quite weird.  
“Mom and dad are on a business trip. My sister moved away for college,” Momo simply stated. “I had no need to invite anyone else.”  
Mina, cocking her head slightly, let her gaze run over the blonde, finding nothing but indifference. It was a bit odd that Momo didn’t invite anyone else, especially with such a large fanbase back in JYP Nation. Should she feel honored that Momo invited her and only her?  
She guessed not. After all, wasn’t this all part of her plan to make Mina like her too? Mina was probably the only person who actually disliked Hirai Momo and if she had been her, she wouldn’t have liked that either.  
“- you think?”  
Momo’s sudden question snapped her out of her thoughts.  
“What?” she muttered.  
“What did you think? Of my performance, I mean,” Momo repeated, chuckling a little this time.  
“You did well,” she answered, albeit a little flat. In fact, Momo had been amazing, incredible, fantastic, but it was beneath her to praise her like that. On top of that, people like Hyoyeon, Ten and Taemin had outshined her, but she definitely hadn’t been the worst of them all. Perhaps she was a bit biased because she wanted JYP Nation to win, but in her opinion, Momo had definitely out-performed the two Jokers.  
“I finished last,” Momo said, raising her eyebrows.  
“That doesn’t mean you’re not good,” Mina immediately commented. “I’ve seen what you can do and even though this performance was… very good, you didn’t reach your maximum. I don’t know about the other dancers but you didn’t show them the best of yourself yet.”  
“You seem to be very trusting,” the blonde chuckled, shaking her head. “Does that mean you’d say ‘yes’ if I asked you to perform with me on the next episode?”  
Mina frowned her eyebrows.  
“What?” she blurted out, immediately feeling a little bit dumb.  
“Would you perform with me on the next episode of Hit the Stage?” Momo asked again. Her eyes had lost their cheesy sparkle and they were dead serious. Mina was a bit thrown back and could only stare back in helpless confusion.  
“Why me?” she eventually asked. “Why not any other girl in the dance school? Why not an instructor?”  
A weak smile formed on Momo’s lips. She shrugged and looked down to her shoes.  
“You have something about you that is hard to ignore,” she simply said, looking back up in confidence.  
“Even if I’d say yes, then there’s still the problem that I know very little of hip hop and you don’t know anything about ballet,” Mina said, still trying to find a way out of this. She was already feeling that her heart was going to say ‘yes’ soon enough, but she wanted her head to make an excuse before she’d agree to work with Hirai Momo.  
“I’m willing to learn ballet. It’s a genre that I’ve been willing to dance for quite a while but have never found the time for,” Momo answered casually. “So… will you join me?”  
Mina sighed and rubbed her temples, taking her time to answer. Eventually she just moaned slightly out of frustration and nodded.  
“Yes. Yes okay, I will,” she said. A big, pleased grin occupied Momo’s face as soon as Mina turned her gaze back towards her again.  
“Amazing!” the blonde called out in excitement. “We’re going to be amazing together. This time, I won’t lose.”  
“Do you already know the theme of the next episode yet, then?” Mina asked, suddenly realizing that if they had to prepare a dance, it’d be good to know what the next episode was about.  
Momo’s eyes started to glitter again.  
“It’s called ‘This love’.”


	2. STAGE 2 – This love

It was one thing to dance with Momo, but it was another to dance to a love song with Hirai Momo.  
It was a complete mystery to Mina why Momo didn’t just pick one of the men in their dancing school. They could’ve done a love duet in which both parties longingly circled around each other. Instead, she had chosen Mina to dance with.  
They had started off by consulting with some of the instructors of JYP Nation, trying to come up with an idea for the following stage. They started off with good intentions but it ended up in many useless hours laying on their backs in the dance studio, offering bad ideas to each other.

Their first idea had actually been pretty good. Their instructor had proposed the idea of them doing the tango. The tango was known for being a lover’s dance, so it’d be perfect for This Love. They found some good music and practiced the first few steps their instructor had put together.  
The dance wasn’t hard, but being so close to the blonde was somehow agonizing. Mina performed the steps flawlessly, but she noticed how her whole body tensed when the blonde placed her hand upon her hips and grabbed her hand firmly, leading the way. She could barely concentrate on the feeling she was supposed to bring over.  
She already felt the burning gaze of their instructor in her back as they waltzed through the room, Mina’s face painfully blank. Whilst Momo gave it her all – with sexy gazes and all – Mina could barely bring herself to hold her hand.  
After a couple of practices, she eventually refused to go on.  
“I’m sorry but this is not going to work,” she said halfway through the dance, disconnecting herself quickly from Momo. She distanced herself as quickly as possible as much as she could from the blonde, who had stopped dancing in confusion. Mina wrapped her arms around her stomach and looked down.  
“I’m glad someone else noticed that too,” he muttered. “There was literally no spark between you two. Mina, I’m not used to this kind of behavior. Where is the girl who could lose herself in dancing? It almost seemed like you tried to back away as far as you could from Momo. This is supposed to be a love duet but you’re making it very hard for yourself and for us here if you’re not willing to give yourself.”  
Mina had walked out of the dance studio after that, shaking her head and holding back her tears. She fled into the dressing rooms and calmed herself down with sips from her water bottle.  
Mina sat down on one of the benches and let her head and back rest against the wall. The base of the song they were supposed to dance to rumbled through the thin walls. Her foot tapped along to the rhythm.

After a while, she had calmed down again. Mina wiped the leftovers of her tears off of her cheek, took one last sip and stored away her bottle. She walked back and was about to enter the dancing studio again when she heard angry voices.  
“-chose someone better!”  
“I don’t want anyone else,” was responded by Momo in a voice that was weirdly calm. She heard the annoyed sigh of their instructor.  
“You’re supposed to do a love duet, Momo. You already chose a girl to accompany you, which, I will assure you, is quite weird. The other contestants will choose someone of the opposite sex to dance with. And I have no problem with guiding you two but damn it, at least pick someone who is willing to dance with you.”  
Mina bit her lip, realizing pretty quickly that they were talking about her.  
“Like I said before, if she really wouldn’t want to dance with me, she would’ve said no. Mina doesn’t like me enough to do this out of the kindness of her heart.”  
“Well then make her act like it. When you took her hand, she looked like she wanted to cut her arm off. If she can’t handle a love duet then ditch her and get someone who can. We don’t have an endless amount of time. The second stage is coming closer every second and we cannot waste any more hours.”  
With difficulty, she could control her shaking lower lip. Tears filled her eyes again. Mina quickly turned around, already walking back towards the dressing rooms when the door of the studio slammed open and someone emerged. She felt a hand lock around her wrist and she was spun around with a force greater than she expected from the blonde.  
“You heard all of that, didn’t you?” Momo asked her, her voice small and breakable of the shame that spread through her body. Mina looked away and took back her hand.  
“It’s the truth and you know it,” she muttered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Momo shake her head.  
“No, it’s not. That you can’t dance with me simply means our performance isn’t perfect yet. If you aren’t enthusiastic, then it’s not Hit the Stage worthy. We’ll find something else… at least, if you’re still willing to help me,” Momo said. She looked down and smiled weakly. “I’d understand if you don’t want to anymore-”  
Mina shook her head.  
“N-no,” she stuttered. “I.. I think I still want to, but just.. not today anymore.”  
Momo looked up. Her weak smile grew out until a big grin.  
“That’s okay. Will I see you tomorrow?”  
Mina nodded slowly. “I suppose so.”

The next day, Momo let her know that their practice session wouldn’t happen that day. She didn’t specify the reason, but Mina guessed it was because of what happened the previous day.  
It barely mattered, though, because Mina had solo class so she had to go to JYP Nation no matter what. Besides dancing with Momo, she had group and solo lessons. Two group classes a week and five solo hours. Since she wanted to become a professional ballerina, she needed those extra hours.  
It was more fun to dance with a group, but the group’s level was lower than hers. With people like Sana, who constantly tripped over their own feet, it was hard to practice well. Despite that, Mina needed to learn how to dance in groups, which was basically why she stayed. On top of that, it was very fun to dance with the other girls, despite her always being the prima ballerina assoluta.  
Their dancing school annually prepared a dance show which was held in the common theater. The opening date was nearing and they still needed to optimize their dance. Mina and her group would perform small, recognizable pieces of well-known ballet dances.  
They were practicing a scene of Swan Lake when the doors of the dance studio flung open and hit the walls with a loud bang. Most girls were immediately thrown off, but Mina only stopped when she heard the recognizable voice of a certain blonde.  
“Miss, can I talk to Mina for a second?”  
She sounded out of breath and very excited. Mina and her dancing teacher exchanged a glance and she nodded, a little bit baffled by the sudden appearing of Momo. Mina excused herself and quickly left the dance studio.  
“What?” she asked, as soon as Momo had dragged her back to the dressing rooms. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and rose her eyebrows. Momo stared at her with excitement and she almost seemed to burst of enthusiasm, like a little kid who had just found out something for the first time and was dying to tell their mother.  
“I have the perfect idea. You’ll love it!”  
Mina questioningly rose her eyebrows, signing for her to talk further.  
“You know my friend Chaeyoung, right? The short girl with-”  
“She’s in your modern dance classes,” Mina stated. “Go on.”  
“Well, Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon and me hang out a lot and when we were together yesterday she told me about this movie she had seen. The kid likes old movies or something and she saw this one called ‘Fear’ which was about the abusive relationship between a man and a woman. The man is handsome, charming, affectionate and simply perfect but he turns obsessive with her. Can’t we do something like that?”  
Mina frowned, still processing the large amount of data in such a short period of time.  
“You want to portray an abusive relationship on stage?” she asked.  
“Exactly!” Momo confirmed. “We will stand out, I’m sure. Everyone will do this lovey-dovey kind of dance and ours will be dark and dangerous. ‘This love’ doesn’t has to be cute and sweet. ‘Our love’ will be fucked up. What do you say?”  
Mina thought for a moment but it didn’t take long for her to nod in agreeance. Even she could see the possibilities in this idea. Momo was right; everyone would be twirling around each other like young puppies to indicate the young, innocent love. Some might perform an act that was a bit more sexual, but none of them would highlight the side of love that is close to craziness, to madness. They would and they would stand out.

The first few times they practiced together, they did it without the instructor. Now that the authority was gone, Mina felt a little more relaxed. She felt more comfortable, also because it was simply her and Momo. It had been their idea to portray an abusive relationship and both girls preferred to make up the choreo themselves as well.  
Despite the fact that their collaboration went very well, Mina still felt a bit weird. It was getting easier and easier to act normal around Momo. Actually, she also started to loosen up around her as well. Only a few weeks ago, she and Momo had been sworn rivals, mainly due Mina’s harsh feelings. Now that the sharp edges had been shaved off of her feelings and Mina had opened up to the blonde a little bit, she noticed that Momo wasn’t as bad as the reckoned her to be.  
They turned out to be a pretty good team when it came to dancing. Despite the difference in preferred music genres – Momo liked modern dance and hip hop the most whilst Mina simply stayed with ballet – they fit weirdly well and they barely had to communicate for them to understand each other. When Momo’s body moved, Mina’s moved along or the other way around.  
On top of that, Mina started to realize why everyone was so smitten about Hirai Momo. She indeed was funny, up till a point where even Mina burst out in giggles. It wasn’t just her jokes, it was mostly her physique; how she could dance like a goddess one moment and trip clumsily over her own feet the next. Soon Mina realized that dancing machine Hirai Momo and the real Momo were two different people. Hirai Momo could dance like a devil, gaze into the audience like they were her prey and they needed to shiver in fear under her crushing power. Momo, on the other hand, loved dogs despite the fact that she was allergic to them and her favorite hobby was eating and watching movies. Hirai Momo could rip out your throat; Momo would accidentally trip and kill herself. They were two entirely different persons and that only indicated how skilled Momo was in dancing.

Chaeyoung also helped them with the music; she turned out to be quite handy. She had made a remix of different sounds, taking parts of the soundtrack of Fifty Shades of Grey – a small act of rebelliousness of the small girl towards the rising popularity of the movie – which was perfect for the dance they wanted to perform.  
They had made up that they wanted this huge cage on stage in which Mina would end up being trapped in. It would be a cube without its walls. The only thing that would actually trap her in there were pieces of ribbon, wrapped around the cage a couple of times. It was there to represent their abusive love. Mina was able to escape – since she was only held captive by ribbons and nothing else but air – but she would be too panicky to even notice. Momo would take a loose end of the ribbon and draw it around the cage one more time during the dance, so that the audience would notice that she was the abuser and that an abuser likes to keep their lover captive. She’d circle around the cage, predatory, tightening the ribbon around the cage and therefor tightening her grasp on Mina.

When they announced their plan to their dance instructor, he smiled for the first time to them, nodding along as they spoke. They showed him the choreography they put together already. Even though it was not much, their instructor was clapping at the end of the piece.  
“I’m proud of you, girls,” he praised them. “Seems like we got ourselves an idea.”

After that, progress was made quickly. Within a week they had made the whole choreography – including Momo and Mina’s self-made part. It was quite a show, Mina thought, as soon as they had rehearsed the piece once.  
They included pieces of ballet in it, in favor of Mina. Momo spent a lot of hours trying to practice her ballet pieces but Mina could tell that she was struggling. Their training hours were mostly spent in ‘ballet classes for dummies’, taught by Mina. Momo tried, she noticed, but you could see that she had never danced this genre before and despite the flexibility of her body, she could still not touch her toes. They limited Momo’s ballet moves to a few basic ones, whilst Mina would perform the more harder ones. Therefore, the dance would still look complex, even though Momo would not do the hardest part.  
On the contrary, Mina neither had to perform hard hip hop moves as well. Mina was mostly locked up inside the cage and especially during the middle part of the dance, she was looking around in panic instead of actually dancing. As soon as the slot started and the base hit in, she would mostly throw up her legs like the ballerina inside her knew how to do whilst Momo would shock the judges with her skills. They were in perfect balance and their cooperation couldn’t be better.

They practiced the dance countless of hours after that, often going on until the late hours to get everything right. The deadline was coming up and both of them were nervous. They needed to perform perfectly and even then, they might not win. It didn’t mean as much to Mina as it did to Momo but Mina felt about as strongly as winning as the blonde, perhaps because she truly wanted Momo to win.

It was 1 AM, two days before the second stage of Hit the Stage would happen when Mina felt a spark for the first time.  
Their dance was almost perfect by now. They could perform the dance with their eyes closed if they wanted to, and even then, they would be completely synchronized with each other. Mina started to get more and more excited for the performance on Hit the Stage.  
By now they had already done interviews together in preparation of the show. Mina had needed to give a short introduction of herself and Momo had explained why she had chosen her. In the interview, she had described her as someone who worked hard and was prepared to give everything. Momo had told them that Mina was the best choice to go with because there was something about her that attracted people of any gender. Mina had blushed as soon as she had seen the whole interview. She had not talked about Momo about it, though.

Mina was growing more and more fond of the blonde as the hours passed and she had already admitted to herself that she had been wrong the whole time. Hirai Momo was genuinely a nice person and everything but egocentric.  
And when she danced… even Mina was impressed. She couldn’t look at her with the eye of a ballerina and judge her way of forming certain poses, because Momo barely did ballet, even in this piece. And even if she could, she didn’t think she was able to. Momo had something about her that was just completely transfixing. She captured you in her dance and Mina wasn’t immune to this as well, even though she was a dancer herself.  
She had felt it during her first performance on Hit the Stage, but she felt it even better now that she was on the dance floor with her. During their performance, Mina could feel the sensation burning inside her body. When Momo reached out to her while she was in the cage, she felt utterly scared. When Momo laughed and grabbed her wrist to pull her back when she wanted to escape, Mina shivered in fear. But their first spark had been when their hands joined together when the beat dropped.  
During most of the dance they performed their own story; Momo as the crazy psychopath, keeping their lover locked and Mina as the victim, desperately trying to escape. But their hands joined together through the cage when the music became louder and they shared a knowing gaze. Their characters, just like themselves, were still linked to each other.  
When they just started practicing the dance, Mina had looked down to her feet, trying to correct her pose. As soon as she had become confident enough to look up, Momo had stared at her with such an intense gaze that it made her heart beat faster. At first it had been just scary. Momo seemed to be completely lost in her role; Mina guessed that was what made her a great dancer as well. But the more they practiced, the more Mina started to feel connected to her as well, the more she started to feel as a lover who couldn’t escape.  
Whenever they shared that glare, she wanted to escape not for the sake of running away from the blonde, but to run towards her. She wanted her as much as she feared her. When they danced, Mina could completely lose herself in the music. As soon as it stopped, she was left a little emptier than before, as if something had just been taken from her. Momo seemed to snap out of her daze pretty quickly and to see the blonde act normal again, also made her return to the normal world as well. But in the very first moments after the music ended, Mina would still feel conflicted whether to run away or press her body up to hers and connect their lips.

Later that night, after she had showered and crawled underneath the cozy blankets of her bed, the experience of that afternoon had made her start thinking.  
Mina had always known that the opposite gender wasn’t the only one she was attracted to, but there had never been a woman who had made her heart beat as fast like Momo had during their dance. She wondered if it was normal for dancers to feel like this when they danced together. She hoped it was.  
But Mina did wonder how Momo felt about her. She knew that the blonde was able to lose herself in the dance as much as she could, but did she feel as connected to her as Mina felt to her? Did she prefer to rip the ribbons from the cage and kiss her passionately?

That night she was plagued by dreams that seemed so vivid that she woke up with the feeling of blonde hair striking over her face and two lips still attached to hers the next morning. The girl in her dreams had been faceless but she knew it had been Hirai Momo. Who else would she dream about?

Their performance on Hit the Stage came nearer and nearer with every passing hour. They were present in the building early in the morning to prepare themselves for the show that would happen at 6 PM that evening.  
They practiced their dance a couple of times that day, just to make sure everything was perfect, as well on stage as off stage. It felt no different to dance on stage than it did to dance in the studio. Mina reckoned it was because of Momo; the blonde seemed to radiate calmness, most because she was sleeping whenever the other participants were performing their act. Mina found herself looking at the blonde often. It didn’t surprise her that Momo was that tired. She herself was tired too – they had worked around the clock to optimize their routine – but it happened often that Momo stayed longer when Mina went home or was earlier at JYP Nation than she was. She worked even harder and she hadn’t thought about how tired the blonde must be. To help her, Mina covered her in a blanket when she fell asleep in weird places and watched over her while she slept.

They didn’t talk much to each other. Momo was mostly sleeping and Mina was mentally preparing herself for the show. An hour before the show started, they were directed to get their make-up done. After that they were simply waiting, which was the most agonizing part of the whole evening.  
When Mina had visited the first episode of Hit the Stage, the show had seemed to be very relaxed. The hosts were joking around and the participants were, despite their nerves, pretty funny as well.  
Now that they were waiting backstage, Mina realized that she had been wrong all along. None of the contestants were relaxed; people were running around with cameras and other equipment and the stage manager was shouting instructions. There were constantly people around to get them to their spots and Mina got more agitated by the second. Whenever they had some time to themselves, they went back to the dressing room to rest. Mina kept walking around, unable to stay still. She hoped that the walking would help her raging nerves but it seemed like they only started to build up more.  
Momo, on the other hand, seemed to be in an always ongoing internal crisis. Whenever she wasn’t sleeping, she simply stared off in the distance. With her legs a little spread and her elbows leaning on her knees, she just stared at the ground, sometimes for more than half an hour. She didn’t even notice Mina stealing glances of her.

At a certain moment, all the participants were directed to a special place. Momo and Mina quietly walked along. When their hands brushed against each other accidentally whilst walking, Mina couldn’t help to look up. A bolt of electricity had run through her hand all the way up to her arm when their skin had connected, but Momo didn’t even seem to be aware. She just stared at the ground with a deep frown on her face.  
They entered the stage all together. The hosts introduced the show and as soon as the introduction had finished, they were directed backstage again. They were quickly hoarded to a waiting room.  
The participants were directed to a large waiting room. Since the order of performances was already known, all they had to do now was wait. Mina noticed they were one of the last to perform, which didn’t help either of them to snap out of their daze.  
Little by little, the number of participants started to shrink. They left by duo’s and didn’t come back after. From the waiting room, you could hear the music playing on stage and the thunderous applause of the public whenever an act started or ended.  
A little while after they sat down, Momo got up and started to practice her ballet moves. There was one particular move in which she needed to jump up, land and immediately lay down on the floor that she still sometimes had trouble with. Mina understood why: it already was a difficult move for a practiced ballerina and they’d perform on bare feet. Even she had trouble getting her poses right without the support of her ballet shoes. Mina watched her practice but the more she practiced, the more it unsettled both of the girls.  
When it was only them and Hoya with his partner, Momo sat down again, a little out of breath. Mina offered her her water bottle, but the blonde shook her head. Mina watched in pain how she started to stare at her own feet again, caught in her own feelings. She wished she could secure the blonde somehow.

One of the stage assistants eventually came in. Momo looked up, immediately snapping out of her daze.  
“Momo, you’re almost up. We need you to get ready,” he told them. The blonde nodded and both of them got up. The assistant led them towards their starting position behind the curtains.  
Their hands brushed against each other’s again but this time, Mina didn’t hesitate to grab the blonde’s firmly. Momo shot her a glance from the corners of her eyes but Mina stubbornly kept looking forwards. She felt a little bit better intertwining her fingers with her partner’s; it helped to calm herself down, knowing that there was someone with her to help her, even if it was Hirai Momo, the girl whom she had conflicted feelings about.  
As soon as the assistant had brought them to their place, he walked off, leaving the two girls alone. Momo still looked down, but Mina pinched her hand to get her attention.  
“It will be okay,” she murmured, almost inaudible. Her gaze met Momo’s and blonde stared back at her with a glance that radiated fatigue.  
“If we screw this up, I’ll be eliminated…”  
Mina took her other hand and pinched in that one too.  
“We’re just going to do the best we can. If we feel it, then the judges will feel it.”  
Moma sighed deeply and pinched back in Mina’s hands.  
“I’m really glad you’re here with me,” she got out, in a croaked voice. Mina blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something back, but they were tapped on the shoulder. The assistant was back and was now holding up three fingers. They were nudged forwards towards the stage as he started to count down.  
Momo and Mina shot each other one last glance before they entered the stage and took their positions.

Mina had performed quite a lot of times on stage, but those had only been ballet shows. There were no cameras and the people stayed quiet during the performance. The first thing she noticed right now was the incredible sound the human mass created; it almost hurt her ears.  
The lights shifted to dark red or were completely turned off, creating a dark, scary vibe in the whole hall. The public grew silent as the music started.  
As soon as they started to dance, Mina was basically able to close her eyes. She knew the dance perfectly; the poses felt familiar and her body knew exactly what to do. Momo gave everything she had and Mina did the same. They danced and Mina hit that point in which she lost herself completely in the dance within a few seconds of the song starting. The well-known creepy feeling started to stalk her and infiltrated her body with fear and panic. But desire was part of it as well. Fear and lust ran through her body like a tornado and when she connected with Momo they shared a gaze that was full of sparks, full of emotion, full of wanting for the other.

The stage ended way too soon and they were met by thunderous applause from the audience. Mina’s heart was beating hard and fast in her throat and she was very much aware of the force that seemed to pull her towards Momo.  
Their points didn’t surpass Feeldog’s, one of the other participants, but Mina was barely aware of that. The only thing she felt was Momo holding onto her hand behind their backs, her nails digging into the back of her hand. The blonde’s chest rose sharply and fast and Mina wondered why; their dancing hadn’t been that exhausting.  
After their points were added up and they hadn’t managed to snatch away the trophy from Feeldog, they were allowed to change their outfit backstage. Momo pulled Mina roughly with her. Mina was barely aware what was happening. She still felt the rush of the performance in her body; she could still hear the creepy music play in her ears; she could still see Momo’s dark gaze.  
They rushed past the crew backstage. Momo sometimes bumped against someone with her shoulder, but none of them made a comment. Some even sent them pitying looks, since all of them knew that Hirai Momo had been eliminated with this performance. They thought that she was upset and they let them run off.  
They entered the dressing room. No one was there. The last duo was performing right about now and the others were on stage. They would soon join them, if they had changed their clothes.  
The door fell shut with a loud bang. Mina didn’t even look up from the sound, but immediately focused her gaze on the blonde. Momo let her hand go and had turned around. She stared at her with a mixed gaze, one that Mina couldn’t exactly decipher. Her heart bumped hard against her chest, but her mind was foggy and her mouth dry. Her tongue felt like sandpaper. They looked at each other for a long moment. With each passing second, Mina could feel her stomach turn more into a knot. Her hands started to itch; she wanted to reach out but she transfixed and wasn’t able to lift her arm.  
The longer they looked, the darker Momo’s gaze became. It seemed thirsty, almost hungry even. It was the look she wore on stage, the look of the psychopath. Only this time, she didn’t look scary at all. She looked like she simply wanted her with every fiber in her body. It made Mina’s cheeks flush.  
Momo still wore the make-up and hadn’t bothered to wipe it off. Dark streaks were covering her face, intensifying her heavy gaze. Her blonde hair and pale skin were strongly in contrast with her black clothes.  
Mina didn’t back away when Momo stepped towards her. First slowly, then faster until their bodies crashed against each other harder than she had expected. Momo’s hands curled in her hair, holding her face. They both breathed hard, the aftershocks of the performance still raging through their bodies.  
Mina’s eyes trailed to her lips, so close to hers. She couldn’t help but to let the tip of her tongue run over her lower lip. When she looked back up, she noticed Momo had done the same. They shared a knowing gaze, before their lips collided roughly. Momo’s fingers curled further in her hair and Mina’s nails digged into the blonde’s back. Their lips slid over each other hungrily, full of need, full of lust. Mina felt Momo’s hot breath against her lips. They tasted like salty from sweat and a bit minty, a mix that was strangely addicting.  
Mina’s back hit the wall and their kissing grew more intense. When the blonde tapped her lower lip with her tongue, she wasn’t hesitant to open her mouth for her. When their tongues touched, a low moan escaped the brunette’s mouth. She felt Momo respond immediately by pulling her body even closer to hers. Mina circled her arms around her neck, not planning on ever letting her go.  
The tension of the past few days – past few weeks – finally was able to come out and it felt better than anything had ever felt.  
With the faint sound of music on the background they kissed and kissed until they were out of breath and their lonely hearts had finally been filled with love.

Mina was only aware of the delicious feeling of the blonde’s lips against hers and her hands travelling all over her body, until the music stopped. An alarm bell started to ring in the back of her mind and suddenly she remembered where they were and what they were supposed to do.  
She placed her hands around Momo’s face, slowly breaking off the kiss. Momo understood the hint almost immediately, but that didn’t prevent her from groaning out of frustration that she had to back away. Instead, she buried her face in the crook of Mina’s neck, placing feather light kisses on the sensitive skin. The brunette couldn’t help to tilt her head a bit, so that she’d have more space.  
“W-we have to get back…” she murmured. Momo sighed in response and looked up. Her gaze had turned back normal. Her eyes had seemed to get their familiar dark brown color back, but she still looked like she preferred to continue their make out session. The black stripes on her face were a bit smudged.  
Mina’s cheeks flushed dark red when she realized how scandalous this actually was.  
“Fine,” the blonde answered curtly. She quickly took her sweater and threw it over her head, whilst Mina exchanged her long skirt for jogging pants. As they did that, Mina could feel Momo’s eyes stabbing in her back, sharp and painful. The tension between them was only fortified by the silence that had settled.

They returned to the stage. Momo hadn’t bothered to grab her hand. The hosts immediately commented that Momo was a dancer who truly lived for their craft because she hadn’t even bothered to take off her make-up. The blonde had laughed shyly at that and nodded quietly. Mina looked down to her shoes to hide her burning cheeks.  
They sat down with the other participants and waited for the final scores.  
The hosts took care of the rest and eventually revealed the winner of this stage. Mina and Momo had ended up somewhere in the middle with their performance and because Momo hadn’t excelled in her performance, she was therefore cut off from the contest. It wasn’t said directly to them or the public, but when the episode ended, the other participants were happily discussing how they’d tackle the next stage – the stage they were told nothing about. Momo hadn’t reacted and had looked down to her shoes. Her hair had been covering her face and Mina had therefore not been able to tell how she really felt.

On their way back to the dressing room, Mina grabbed the blonde’s hand. Momo looked up to her, her gaze at first hard and confused. After a few seconds, it softened. The blonde nodded at her thankfully.  
They didn’t say much; they simply got their stuff and left the building. Together they went home. The silence between them wasn’t as pressuring anymore. Both of them were tired and simply wanted to lay in bed and do nothing for a decade. Their attention span was low and during the bus ride home, they both listened to their own music, each staring out of another window. They never let each other’s hand go, though, because the comfort the other person was providing was much needed.

The bus stopped at Momo’s stop first. When the blonde let Mina’s hand go and stood up to get out, the brunette couldn’t help to hold onto it as long as she could. Right before she checked out, Momo turned around, wanting to say something. She had already opened her mouth but seemed to change her mind. Instead of saying what she wanted to say, she smiled, nodded to say good-bye and left.  
Mina was left with a gaping hole in her heart.  
The remaining few minutes were lonely without Momo.


	3. STAGE 3 – Final

After Hit the Stage, their lives basically returned back to normal. Momo was welcomed back as a hero in JYP Nation, despite not having brought back a price. They loved her for trying and admired her even more now they had seen what kind of performances she was able to do. Momo took the compliments with a weak, forced smile.  
Mina wondered if she was the only one who could see that it was unnatural. She decided to pay little attention to it though, but it was hard to do so. Now that they had gone through so much together, she felt like they had bonded. She wasn’t able to go back to how things used to be before. She couldn’t hate Hirai Momo anymore, not after all that had happened, nor could she ignore her when she forced a smile to her fans.  
But their lives were too different to combine now that their normal schedules had resumed. Mina was busy with her ballet classes and Momo did the same. They didn’t see each other often, only when they passed each other in the hall. Momo on her way out of the dance studio and Mina on her way in. They shared knowing gazes, gazes that Mina had used to interpret as cocky but now knew they meant something different. She knew how to read them.

They didn’t speak about their kiss. In fact, they didn’t speak at all. It pained Mina to see them distancing again, slowly fading away from each other, but she reckoned that it’d be the best for both of them. They were too different, two sides of the same coin.  
That didn’t mean Mina hadn’t yearned for the blonde, though. Ever since their lips had touched, her dreams were filled with extensions of their kissing session. Subconsciously, she had wanted it to continue, even though her head told her she didn’t. After thinking about it carefully, she labelled the kiss as a way to cope with their frustration and stress, not as something with actual feelings attached, because that couldn’t be, right? Until a month ago, Mina had hated her. There was no way that she felt something more for the blonde.  
The kiss had just been the easiest way to blow off some steam.

After a few weeks of not talking to her, Mina had eventually forgot about it as well. That’s why it came as a surprise when Momo grabbed her by her wrist one day after practice.  
Mina had been just done with her solo lessons and was about to retreat to the dressing room, when she saw the blonde coming out. It was quite late already, so it took her by surprise that Momo was still there. It hadn’t been unusual during their Hit the Stage period that Momo stayed in JYP Nation until 11 PM, but now that the show had ended, the girl wouldn’t have a reason to practice until so late.  
When their paths crossed and their eyes met, both girls stood still for a moment. Mina could feel her heart bump loudly in her chest.  
She was the first one who wake up from her daze. The brunette smiled lightly and stepped forwards, resuming her way towards the dressing rooms. When she passed the blonde, it first seemed like nothing would happen, until she felt Momo’s long, elegant fingers curl around her wrist, stopping her. Mina’s breath got caught in her throat at the touch. Her fingers were cold on her hot skin, like ice on fire.  
Their eyes interlocked again and Mina knew from that moment that their kiss had been so much more than just letting off some steam. Mina almost willingly let Momo lead her back to the dance studio. None of them spoke, but they both knew what the other craved for; longed for.  
Because she had been the last one to leave, the lights were switched off. The shutter was down which prevented anyone from looking into the dance studio, which handed them a bit of privacy. The small window was usually open, which gave the parents the opportunity to watch their kids for a few minutes during their dancing classes, or what are supposed to be dancing classes. Whenever it was ‘Parents’ Day’, there were hordes of parents squeezing together in front of the tiny window, each holding up their phones to film their kids dancing off-beat to children’s songs.  
It didn’t often happen that the curtains were closed, only when groups practiced for the annual performance. They had been closed during their sessions for Hit the Stage. And they were closed now, causing the studio to be close to pitch black. The light that shone from under the doors was just enough to allow Mina to perceive Momo’s silhouette. Her blonde hair almost seemed to glow in the dark.

The blonde’s fingers were still curled around her wrist but sooner rather than later, they curled around her waist, pulling her closer. Mina’s breath got caught in her throat and her heart sprang up when she felt Momo’s hand in her neck.  
She felt the blonde’s hot, fast breath on her lips when they moved closer. Her arm twisted around Momo’s neck. Their foreheads leaned against each other for a moment before their lips found each other.  
The kiss was softer than their first one had been. Back then they had been so full of adrenaline because of their performance, so full of need for the other, that they hadn’t been able to control themselves. The kiss had been sloppy, with tongues everywhere and hands trailing over each other’s body, eager to touch every bit. It had made Mina’s head spin in a good way.  
But this kiss was softer.  
Weeks had passed and Mina had not realized how much she had missed the blonde – her kisses as well as her personality – until their lips met again. They slid slowly over each other’s, tasting every flavor carefully. The girl’s lips felt like clouds, or maybe pillows. Ever so soft.  
Momo cupped her cheek with her hand and had the other arm around her waist. Mina laid her arms over her shoulders, intertwining one hand with her hair, keeping it out of her face. She willingly pressed herself up closer to Momo, until their whole bodies were touching.  
Her heartbeat had speeded up when Momo had bowed closer to her, but slowed down as soon as they were kissing. It felt right. It felt like nothing in the world was ever supposed to feel as right as this.  
The ballet barre the ballerina’s used to warm up with prevented her from being completely pressed up against the wall. Mina gasped for air when she felt Momo’s hand underneath her shirt, straddling the sensitive skin. Momo smiled against her lips when she heard that. The blonde moved her lips to her cheek and eventually to her jawline. She lowered until she could press feather light kisses in her neck. Mina immediately tilted her head, giving her more space. She held herself up with one hand against the barre, the other one still entangled in Momo’s hair.  
When she opened her eyes for a moment, she caught a glance of them in the large wall-sized mirrors of the studio. She stared into her own eyes, almost not believing what was happening. Momo’s head was buried in her neck. Her lips felt incredibly good – especially when she softly bit down onto the sensitive skin, causing Mina to let out a mix of a gasp and a moan – but to see them like that made her feel like she was committing a crime. It felt scandalous. Her belly knotted together in fear. What would they do if someone walked in right now? She bit her lower lip. This was not her… This was not the person she wanted to be.  
When Momo reached her collar bone, Mina placed her hands softly on her shoulder. The blonde didn’t immediately get the hint.  
“Momo…” Mina muttered softly. She put up a little more resistance, which caused Momo to look up. She smiled widely though, catching Mina’s face with her hands again, letting their foreheads rest together. She wanted to lean in for another kiss again, but Mina turned her face away. This caught her attention. Momo looked up with a frown and took her hands back from her face.  
“What’s wrong?” she asked her. Mina looked down, avoiding the other girl’s piercing gaze. A sigh escaped her lips.  
Momo returned her hands and cupped her face in her hands, rubbing reassuringly with her thumb over her cheeks. Mina leaned into her touches, closed her eyes and bit down on her lower lip.  
“We shouldn’t do this,” she muttered softly.  
“Why not? Don’t you want to?” Momo asked. Her voice sounded fragile, more like the humble, shy Momo she was in the daytime unlike Hirai Momo, the dangerous dancing machine. It almost broke Mina’s heart.  
“I do… I do…” she murmured. “It’s just that… I like this. I like how you make me feel and I like how I started to like you once we started to work together. But I can’t do whatever we’re doing right now. I can’t.. I can’t just work together with you so closely for a very long time and then go back to being strangers after the show only to kiss again a few weeks later. I need something secure and even though I like the thrill of secretly making out in the practice room, I can’t go through with this.”  
Momo let her speak without interrupting her, a deep frown on her face. When she was done, she smiled weakly.  
“What are you suggesting? That we should date?”  
The brunette shook her head and sighed.  
“Do you think that would work? We are too different, you and I,” she said. Momo rose her eyebrows.  
“I can list quite a few things we have in common.”  
“That’s the thing, Momo. I will keep feeling competitive because of that. I used to want to be better. I still want to be, although it has lessened a bit now that we have become closer. But I am jealous and I will always will be. Our relationship would be… toxic, if I constantly want to try to be better than you. I wouldn’t be able to treat you as an equal. I know it sounds stupid but it’s not you. This completely on me.”  
Momo’s smile faltered.  
“I didn’t know you felt this way…” she said, almost inaudible. “I’m sorry.”  
Mina shook her head immediately and took Momo’s head in her hands. She pressed her forehead against the blonde’s, still shaking softly.  
“Oh no. No, no, no,” she murmured. “Don’t apologize.”  
She kissed her softly, but she felt that Momo’s heart didn’t feel like it anymore.  
“You were perfect. You are perfect,” she whispered against her lips. “But you are not for me. And don’t keep yourself reserved for me. Don’t waste yourself.”  
Momo sighed against her lips and curled her arms a little tighter around her waist. She buried her face in Mina’s neck, but didn’t attempt to kiss her again.  
“Once again, we feel differently about each other,” she heard her mutter. Mina closed her eyes and let out a sigh. They cuddled, huddled into each other. The brunette pressed soft kisses on the top of Momo’s head.  
They stood together like that for a while, until Momo looked up to her. A weak smile was displayed on her face.  
“But I suppose I cannot make you feel differently this time,” she said. Mina looked down and swallowed. She shook her head slowly. The blonde nodded and kissed her one more time, before she freed herself from Mina’s embrace.  
Her eyes were alert and Mina could see them twinkling, even in the semi-darkness of the studio.  
“It was an honor to dance with you, Myoui Mina,” the blonde said. Mina looked up and smiled.  
“Likewise.”

They had left JYP Nation together that evening, but as they parted ways – each to go home – their hearts also parted ways. The girls didn’t speak to each other for a very long time. In the first few days, Mina’s heart had ached like she had just lost a loved one. In fact, she still saw Hirai Momo every day, but the looks they shared now were apologetic. Apologetic because they knew how much they had hurt each other with that one kiss. Apologetic because they both had to get over each other and because it hurt more than they were willing to admit.

The first dinner after their break up had been awkward, but after that, they had turned friends pretty fast. The get-togethers weren’t as bad as they used to be, now that Momo and Mina got along.  
Sadly it didn’t last for long. Because of Momo’s Hit the Stage performance, she was soon contacted by a famous idol entertainment. They had reserved her a spot as a trainee, if she was willing to come. Momo accepted and left JYP Nation. After she became a rookie, she was more often than not practicing for becoming an idol and was therefore not at the dinners of their families anymore.  
It saddened Mina not to see the blonde anymore. Even as a friend, she was very happy to be around her. But her sadness turned into pride when she saw her debut in a girl group a year after that. Momo wasn’t only a great dancer, but she could sing and rap too. Her dancing skills weren’t used well, Mina thought herself. The girl group’s choreography was way too easy for her. But she was placed at the top of the formation often, which gave her a lot of screen time and soon a lot of popularity.

Momo’s dream as an idol began at the same time Mina made it as a ballerina. She was accepted as a student at the Korean National Ballet Academy and she finished it one year sooner than the other students.  
Besides a few hit songs on the radio, Hirai Momo had turned into a vague memory that was buried deep inside her brain. Mina forgot about her. The only reminder she got were the music videos and Momo’s mother, who still came by regularly at the Myoui house.

Years passed and Mina aged well. She participated in several shows and performed countless of times. After she had become too old to stay a ballerina, she opened her own ballet school in Seoul. The first few years were rough, but after she had made a name, the children who were willing to learn ballet were in abundance.  
At first, Mina was still able to teach all of her classes herself, but eventually she had to hire other employees as well. She could expand her company even to Busan and Incheon; she was a hit.

Perhaps she should have known back then that a confrontation would happen. The more known she became, the more she came in contact with people who were willing to pay more. Eventually only the elite of Seoul was able to afford Myoui Mina and her skills.  
She wasn’t surprised when a tall 5-year-old hobbled into her dancing school one day. Her jet-black bangs fell over her forehead. Her long hair divided into two pigtails, which bounced happily when she did. Her smile was cheeky, although she was shy when Mina came to meet her.  
The girl was followed by her mother, a tall, gracious woman. The years had made wrinkles appear underneath her eyes, but besides that her face was still as gorgeous as the day she had walked into JYP Nation. The only difference between back then and now was that she had cut her hair short – shoulder-length – and she had gotten rid of her bangs, which caused her to look a lot more mature. The color had changed from blonde to chocolate brown.  
They only had to exchange one glance to recognize each other. They only had to exchange one glance for the memories to return.  
“I believe we had an appointment?” Hirai Momo asked her, as she approached. She held her daughter by the hand. Mina smiled reservedly.  
“We do. Private lessons for your little one, am I right?” she asked. Momo nodded.  
Mina lowered herself and shook the girl’s hand. Momo’s daughter took hers shyly and quickly hid behind her mother after Mina took her hand back. She stood back up again.  
“We don’t usually take them in from such a young age,” she started, as she glanced at the kid.  
“I know.”  
“Why not go to JYP Nation? Why not enlist her for hip hop? Suppose that’s nicer for your daughter too. Ballet isn’t often appreciated and viewed child-friendly,” she said, thinking out loud. Momo chuckled and ran with her long fingers through her hair.  
“Ballet is the base of every kind of dance. I learned that during Hit the Stage. And who else should I trust her with besides Myoui Mina?”  
Momo winked and even after all this years, that wink could make Mina’s cheeks light up like fire.  
“Well, why don’t we get started then?” she asked, as well to Momo as to her daughter. She held out her hands and after a quick look at her mother, the girl took her hand.

After that, she encountered Hirai Momo often. Their old feelings would never return the same way as they used to be, but the spark between the two women had never died. Their souls were still pulled towards each other like two magnets. Plus and minus. Two sides of the same coin.  
And even though they had both someone else waiting at home, the looks they gave each other was as scandalous as the kiss they had shared backstage when they were teenagers.


End file.
